Flattening of the head, known most commonly in the medical
world as plagiocephaly, is something that Lauren Storey, Osteopath frequently sees in
clinical practise. Often parents are concerned that there is a patch at the
back or side of their baby’s head that appears to be flattened and causes the
head, and in more extreme cases the face, to have an asymmetrical shape.
Commonly the flattening is caused when a baby has a
preference for lying with their head in the same position and as babies have
malleable skulls, having an external force placed repeatedly on the same area
of the head can cause a growth distortion. However, the skull continues to grow
and shape a great deal over the first year, so if the flattening is noticed and
dealt with early on it has a better chance of resolving.
Babies will always lie in the position that feels most
comfortable to them and so if there is stiffness or discomfort within the neck
they will avoid certain positions or movements. This can be influenced by the position
they grew in when in the uterus, trauma to the necks during the birth
(especially during very long labours or those which needed the intervention of
forceps or ventous) or habit after birth.
In most cases the flattening presents a purely cosmetic worry
for parents however as the head growth is encouraged by brain growth and
development, it is important to prevent the problem getting to a stage where it
could impede on brain growth and development. In cases where babies have a
particular preference for right or left rotation, they often play and interact
with the hand on that side more frequently leading to a hand dominance which
should not be seen before the age of 1 year.
Tips for how to prevent
flattening of the head:
·
Encourage your baby to turn their
head to both the right and left when sleeping. This may mean putting stimulus such
as light, toys or yourselves on their non favoured side. One good way to do
this is to turn them the other way round in their Moses baskets or cots.
·
Alternate sides when feeding. When breast feeding you will do this
naturally however its important to switch sides when bottle feeding if your
worried your baby is developing a preference for either rotation.
·
Dedicate time each day to tummy time.
This will mean they
spend a little less time lying with pressure on the back of their heads and is
an important position for physical development. Start off with only a couple of
minutes at a time and build up gradually as your child gets used to the
position, observing them at all times when on their front.
·
Talk to your local paediatric osteopath!
Osteopathy for babies is a little different to what
you may have experienced if you have been to see an osteopath yourself. We take
a full history going back to the pregnancy and birth, give a thorough physical
examination to assess both physical and neuromotor development, then treat
using a very gentle approach including both cranial and structural techniques. With
the development of head flattening the approach usually involves ensuring that
the child has full range of motion within their spine whilst removing any
internal tension that may prevent the cranium from growing symmetrically.
